Hate Crime Charges For Charleston Killer

A grand jury indictment of Dylann Roof on federal hate crime charges could happen as soon as today, a move that would make the 21-year-old man a defendant in one of the worst racially motivated attacks since the Civil Rights era, according to sources close to the investigation. Roof, who is white, is accused of fatally shooting nine black worshippers during a June 17 Bible study at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston.That night, authorities first stated that the shooting would be considered a hate crime. The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also sent FBI agents into the field to investigate the possible motive for what was thought to be South Carolina’s worst racial hate crime in history. An indictment could bring that aspect of the crime that has sparked conversations about race relations nationwide into the courtroom for the first time. Multiple sources confirmed that the indictment by a Columbia grand jury was imminent. They requested anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss a grand jury action.